Illini football notes: Team knows it's running out of chances to quiet critics

Tuesday

Sep 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMSep 29, 2009 at 5:21 PM

Rarely these days is there a debate whether Illinois can win football games or not. Most of the Illini crowd is already convinced. Illinois junior defensive end Clay Nurse and the Illini know it's time to put up or shut up. The only way to quiet hostile Illini fans after a disappointing start is by winning games.

John Supinie

Rarely these days is there a debate whether Illinois can win football games or not. Most of the Illini crowd is already convinced.

Illinois junior defensive end Clay Nurse and the Illini know it's time to put up or shut up. The only way to quiet hostile Illini fans after a disappointing start is by winning games.

"Coach (Ron) Zook says all the time they're within their right and opinion to be angry about what happens,'' Nurse said Tuesday. "As a player, I don't like to sit back and hear that my coach needs to be fired. I don't like to sit back and hear that my quarterback sucks or my defensive line can't get pressure. Or somebody can't cover or we can't tackle. I don't like to sit back and hear that.

"But if we haven't shown the results on the field, people are within their rights to say that. That's something we as a team have to go out and change.''

Illinois (1-2 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten) hosts No. 15 Penn State (3-1, 0-1) in the conference home opener Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC), when Illinois wants to create a home-field advantage but may also face a crowd with little patience. Since Penn State joined the Big Ten before the 1993 season, Illinois is 2-10 against the Nittany Lions.

Nevertheless, Nurse and the Illini remain confident.

"Everybody needs to calm down and enjoy the ride,'' Nurse said.

MARTEZ WILSON UPDATE: Surgeons used bone from the hip of Illinois junior middle linebacker Martez Wilson during surgery in Chicago Monday to repair his neck, Zook said Monday. Wilson's season ended because of a herniated disk, Zook said. Wilson will likely to return to campus on Wednesday.

A USA Today All-American at Chicago Simeon High School, Wilson is expected to be out three to seven months while recovering, but Zook hoped Wilson would return for spring drills. He must wear a neck brace for two weeks.

"He'll begin his rehab within the next couple of weeks,'' Zook said. "It should be a speedy recovery from there.''

In Wilson's absence, freshman middle linebacker Evan Frierson logged 27 snaps. His time was reduced because of Ohio State's offense going to spread formations that called for more defensive backs and fewer linebackers, Zook said.

"You can't judge how he played by the personnel that were in there,'' Zook said. "Most of that is what we're trying to do to match up defensively.''

ETC.: Illinois will wear orange jerseys. The crowd is asked to wear orange, and the first 60,000 fans will receive orange metallic shakers courtesy of Coca-Cola. . . Lee Archibald, who has taken part in two NASA space shuttle missions after earning an undergraduate degree at Illinois, will meet with the team and play a role in the coin flip. . . The Eastern Illinois Food Bank will collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations Saturday. Requests for help with food rose from 33,000 people per month to 43,000, said spokesman Cheryl Middaugh. Food bank personnel and volunteers in red shirts will be handling donations. . .